In 2009, Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed along with the nation's Vice President and twelve other ministers partook in an underwater cabinet meeting, weeks before an international climate conference. The meeting took place 4 meters below sea level and was a notable bid to push for stronger climate action by world leaders and neighboring governments, as the Maldives is at the forefront of countries at risk due to global warming. President Nasheed as well as his ministers used waterproof pencils to sign the declaration, 'SOS from the frontline', which was presented at the climate summit in Copenhagen. It is no secret that the issue of inequality and the growing wealth gap has been a recurring concept within global climate negotiations. Many under-developed and even currently developing nations are still actively seeking for developed countries to acknowledge their greater responsibility regarding the climate crisis and to equitably share the burden in shifting towards a lower-carbon economy.
With the rapid economic growth in nations such as India and China, global inequality and the wealth gap between countries has presented a considerable decline. Nevertheless, with the growing impact of the climate crisis, these positive trends are reverting due to the disproportionate economic effects of climate change on under-developed nations. The extensive socio-economic development by larger and developed countries result in alarming rates of emissions and carbon gases being released into the planet's atmosphere, primarily at the expense of lesser income nations. The consequences of these actions lead to increasing global temperatures that force the loss of natural ecosystems, rising sea levels and dramatic weather conditions. Not only are low-income nations facing the drastic effects of weather extremities such as floods, droughts and hurricanes that strip away previously established standards for living, but they are also faced with reducing their own carbon footprint and emissions. Research indicates that the growing changes in temperature caused by the increased levels of greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere have enriched cool countries within the European region while simultaneously devastating the economic growth of warmer countries in Asia and Africa.
Additionally, a 2019 study at Stanford presents that without the presence of the climate crisis, the gap between the economic output of the world's richest and poorest countries would have been significantly lower than it is today. Between the years of 1960 and 2010, it was found that global warming played a key role in decreasing the wealth per person in under-developed nations by 30%. Developed nations are recognized as the primary emitters and contributors to the climate crisis yet on an average, they enjoy a 10% higher GDP per capita today than they would in a world without global warming. Meanwhile, emerging and under-developed nations which are not notable emitters face a drastic decrease of about 25% in their GDP per capita. When comparing these figures, the study noted that the loss faced by these nations were on par with the level of economic output experienced during the Great Depression. Though the wealth gap and economic inequality between nations would have decreased in recent decades, it is heavily implied that the gap would have narrowed faster without the threat of the climate crisis.
However, there is an emphasis on how mitigating the climate crisis can either limit or exacerbate global inequalities. This would require the costs of reducing the impacts of the climate crisis to not disproportionately fall on low-income and under-developed countries; instead for the responsibility of mitigating climate change to be equitably distributed across nations so that they may reap the benefits generated by minimizing inequalities. All indications highlight the need to promote more restrained consumption patterns, particularly among developed nations, and adopting principles that focus on reducing the gaps in wealth. It is essential that the responsibility to cut carbon emissions need to be mostly shouldered by the high-income groups as well as the privileged groups in emerging nations, in order to mitigate global inequality. These disparities among countries may decline in the short-term or even in the medium-run but are expected to start surging again as climate change impacts gradually outweigh the expected economic convergence between low- and high-income countries. Hence, the development and formulation of strict and effective climate mitigation policies are also recognized as being critical to the limitation of future inequalities between nations.
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